In this section, you can learn about Guam’s political history — spanning from life in Ancient Guam, through transformations under different colonial administrations from the Spanish and US Naval eras, political life during World War II and under the Japanese occupation, the turbulent years immediately after the war, and CHamoru/Chamorro efforts for self-determination and local governance that have shaped politics in Contemporary Guam. Learning about Guam’s political history and the leaders who transformed the island and shaped the currents of political change may surprise you or encourage you to engage more deeply with local politics. For example, did you know that people in Guam were only able to vote for the island’s governor in 1970, once the Guam Elective Governor Act was passed by the US Congress? Prior to that, although the Organic Act established a civilian branch of government in 1950, Guam governors were not selected by local voters, but instead appointed by the US president. In this section, learning about Guam’s political development can help you become more informed about how the government works today. You can also browse through entries by historical era to learn more about civic society during particular points in Guam’s history.
Over the course of Guam’s 350 year history of colonial administration by various foreign powers, the indigenous CHamoru/Chamorro people have never been able to exercise their right to self-determination and secure their desired political future. Nevertheless, the Chamorro people have engaged in a range of political, legal, and activist strategies to secure a greater degree of self-government while aiming to protect indigenous social and cultural rights. In this section, you can learn about this long history and how different generations of Chamorro leaders used the tools available to them at the time to advance the movement for self-determination, as well as the continued challenges that are faced today.
In this section, you can learn about how the education system changed under distinct historical eras. Throughout centuries of colonization in Guam, Spaniards, Japanese, and Americans aimed to impose their value systems on the Chamorro people. This was often accomplished through the education system. For example, during the Naval Era, the government introduced an executive order banning the use of the Chamorro language and designating English as the official language of the island. Students were punished in school for speaking their native tongue. As Chamorros gained a greater degree of self-rule in more modern times, the education system became a tool for native language revitalization and cultural preservation. With support from the Guam Legislature, the Department of Education designed a bilingual/bicultural education program to begin teaching the Chamorro language in schools, ushering in a new era for Chamorro education.
Educational materials
At its most basic definition, economics is concerned with the creation and transfer of wealth. In Ancient Chamorro times, society was organized matrilineally, which meant that inheritance was passed on through the mother’s family. Land was the primary source of wealth, and was communal property that the clan used to benefit the entire group. These land use practices changed under the Spanish and later American colonization. By learning about economic systems in Guam, you can see how these changes altered Chamorro life and society. The entries in this section span Guam’s historic eras, from Ancient Chamorro times through the Spanish and US Naval eras, and ending with the development of American banking and the role of tourism as the primary economic engine in Contemporary Guam.
Ancient Guam
Resources
Spanish Era
US Naval Era
Guamanian Era
Contemporary Guam
e-Publications
In this section, you can read about the roles of religious communities in Guam and the impact that religious beliefs and customs have had on CHamoru/Chamorro culture over time. For example, Catholic traditions (with roots in Spanish missionization) have come to hold an important role in perpetuating Chamorro language and cultural practices. We can see how Catholic traditions have taken on new meanings in Chamorro contexts — like large village fiestas to celebrate Catholic saints, and nobenas and other Catholic prayers that are recited in the Chamorro language.
In this section, you can learn about the development of health and medicine in Guam, and explore how healthcare in the island changed under different historical eras. In the Amot Corner, you can dive deeper into Indigenous CHamoru/Chamorro practices of healing and medicine-making. Traditional healing practices were preserved and perpetuated despite centuries of colonization, and can teach us about the intimate and living connections that Chamorros have with the land as a source for healing and medicinal plants.
